Quest Giver

Location

Prerequisite

Next Quest

Reward

Type

Quest ID

It is given by Falk Firebeard, Steward to Jarl Elisif at Solitude. A representative from Dragon Bridge nervously and impatiently pleaded to the court in Solitude for help investigating Wolfskull Cave due to rumors of disappearances and strange lights, but so far has only received reinforced guard patrols.

After entering the cave, the path starts north, gradually turns to the right, then sharply left (northwest). After a draugr is dispatched, the path turns slightly right (north). Two necromancers are sitting in front of a cook fire to the left (northwest), and wooden door opens to the north.

Down the steps beyond the door is a room with several enemies, including a frost atronach. In the center of the room is a sinkhole. After jumping down the sinkhole, the passage leads north-northwest to Wolfskull Ruins.

To the north is another overlook, where necromancers and the Ritual Master can be heard chanting a summoning spell for the long-dead Potema Septim, the "Wolf Queen." The ghostly form of Potema is at the top of a tower.

Another passage to the left (west) leads to the bottom. Alternatively, it is possible to jump down carefully to the right from the overlook (if the Dragonborn turns left they will fall and be teleported to the bottom of the sinkhole).

At the bottom of the steps are several enemies, then a curved set of steps leads up to the east, curving eventually to the west. At the top is a satchel against the right-hand wall, and an opening leads east. Another set of steps leads up to the northeast. At the first landing are numerous leveled draugr. The next set of steps leads to a second landing where the path turns left (northwest). Another set of steps leads up to the northwest, then west. At the top of those steps is a walkway with another draugr.

The walkway leads generally east, then to a final curved set of steps up to the top of the tower where the necromantic ritual to bind Potema is happening. The necromancers who are conducting the ceremony must be killed, including the ritual master. A lever to the left of a drawbridge drops it, creating a path southeast to the next tower. There is a chest against the southeast wall of the second tower top, and a set of stairs leading down. At the bottom, a path leads southeast to a door back to Wolfskull Cave. Beyond the door, it is possible to jump down next to the cart in the initial small cavern, then exit the cave.

It is possible to kill most of the Draugr with a bow before going through it by standing on the ledge, thus making it easier to fight the necromancer and the one draugr that are on the other side.

It is also possible to complete the objective Clear Out Wolfskull Cave by shooting a well-aimed arrow at the Ritual Master on top of the tower, from the ledge, thus ending the ritual. Sneak mode along with Aura Whisper will help. The rest will remain, however you can just turn around and turn in the quest.

The necromancers and Ritual Master next to the altar neither disappear nor respawn, making them great thralls for the Dead Thrall spell or The Ritual Stone power.

When entering the ruins during the quest, one can hear the entire ritual:

Potema "Yes, YES! Return me to this realm!"Ritual master "As our voices summon you, the blood of the innocent binds you, Wolf Queen!"Potema "What? What are you doing?"All summoners together "Summoned with words, bound by blood."Potema "You ants don't have the power to bind ME!"All summoners together "Summoned with words, bound by blood."

This section contains bugs related to The Man Who Cried Wolf. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:

Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening.

If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template 360 / XB1 , PS3 / PS4 , PC / MAC , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on.

Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person-anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

PC 360 PS3 This quest conflicts with "Tending the Flames". While that quest is active, Varnius Junius may remain standing in the corner until King Olaf's verse is recited to the court and the player re-enters the palace.

PC If the Bard's College is investigated first, Falk Firebeard may end up standing there with a quest marker over his head and no other speech options.

Both situations where the quest is frozen can be worked around by opening the console and entering setstage MS06Start 5. This will trigger Varnius Junius to deliver his report to the Jarl and properly progress the quest after some discussion amongst the Jarl's advisors.

PC When Wolfskull Cave is entered after accepting quest, only mercenaries can be found, and the Ruins cannot be accessed.

This can be fixed by fighting through to the final room where the chest is found. Once in there, the console command TCL will turn off collision. It is then possible to float through the floor. After getting through the floor, turning off "NoClip Mode" allows the Dragonborn to enter Wolfskull Ruins area. A follower will not follow through the floor. However, they will spawn in the next area once it is entered.

There is a hole on the right side of the ruin after exiting the tower, that if entered cannot be exited.

PC The console command player.moveto RefID will take the Dragonborn to the corresponding NPC's location.